An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a university student was stabbed to death in an “extremely shocking” incident in Leicester.
Police were alerted to reports that a man in his 20s had collapsed in Oxford Street close to the junction with Bonners Lane near De Montfort University (DMU) at 5pm on Tuesday.
It is believed that the student was involved in an altercation with another man, who left before officers arrived.
The victim, who was named locally as Khaleed, was treated by paramedics at the scene. He was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary where he died from his injuries.
Part of the campus was cordoned off
IOANNIS ALEXOPOULOS/LNP
On Wednesday a card from “Katie” left at the crime scene was addressed to “Khaleed and family”. It said: “I am so saddened that your life has been taken too soon. My thoughts are with your family and friends.”
Professor Katie Normington, the vice-chancellor, said: “We are devastated to confirm the tragic death of one of our students. Our thoughts are with everyone who is affected by what has happened. We are offering direct support to students, staff and the family of the victim.”
Normington said the university was working with the force as they “investigate this major incident”, adding: “Thank you for the messages of support we have been receiving from the community of Leicester: it is a city that knows how to stand together in moments like this.”
Tye Crofton, 19, who works at DMU’s Innovation Centre, said: “I was just about finishing work about five minutes to 5pm … and then I heard a scream. There was a young man lying on the floor … surrounded by about 12 to 17 bystanders, some of whom had covered him with their coats.”
The cordon was lifted after a kitchen knife was recovered
JACOB KING/PA
Campus security brought a defibrillator before paramedics arrived. East Midlands ambulance service said it had dispatched an ambulance car, three ambulances and an air ambulance responder before taking the student to hospital.
Nea Donnelly, 21, a marketing undergraduate, said she was “very sad” that such a “horrific incident” had unfolded, near her student accommodation. “When I moved to Leicester three years ago it was a great place but it has drastically gone downhill. I don’t even like coming out of my flat at night any more,” she told The Times.
Donnelly claimed that at the end of 2025 young people attended a party in a supermarket car park and some were seen brandishing machetes and knives.
“I can’t wait to leave this area. It’s students who aren’t from Leicester that are bringing the city’s name into disrepute,” she added.
Joe Zenga, 34, a musician who regularly performs on the campus, said the killing was “extremely shocking” and “out of character with the area”. He said: “Sometimes there can be a raucous atmosphere when young men come in from the city centre but this isn’t common.”
During the afternoon, police officers guarded the crime scene as a forensic investigator was seen retrieving a kitchen knife from underneath a tree. The cordon was later lifted.
Detective Inspector Lorna Granville of Leicestershire police, who is leading the investigation, said: “We are currently piecing together exactly what has occurred on the corner of Oxford Street and Bonners Lane between, what is reported as, two men involved in a confrontation.
“One of the men is believed to have been stabbed and has then collapsed in the street. Despite the best efforts of medical staff he died in hospital.
“CCTV in the area is currently being reviewed and officers are speaking to potential witnesses to assist with our investigation. We know a lot of people came to the aid of the victim before emergency services arrived and we want to thank them for their help. If you were one of these people and you haven’t yet spoken to the police, please contact us.”
Granville has asked anyone who may have captured dashcam footage around the time of the incident to come forward.
Police investigate fatal stabbing close to university campus
Rupert Matthews, the police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire, said: “My thoughts are with all those affected by this horrific, and shocking, incident. A young man’s life has been unnecessarily cut short, and that is a tragedy. I know that the police are working tirelessly to bring the person, or persons, responsible to justice.”